Whole 30 is over and now you're left either with a room full of empty pizza boxes or a total fear of food.
Both situations leave much to be desired.
I think there are tons of pros to Whole 30. I love that it helps people think more about the quality of their food choices, that it maybe has led some of you to spend time meal prepping and to stop mindlessly eating the office snacks just cause they're there for the taking.
But what I dislike about Whole 30 is that these choices are mostly encouraged by fear mongering. Gluten kills. Sugar kills. Processed foods are the devil.
Dude, calm down. Bread can help us get stronger. A little bit of sugar can keep the cravings at bay. And processed foods make a busy life easier to manage. We don't have to be SO extreme.
Plus, while it is possible to eat enough carbs on Whole 30, I do find people are COMMONLY under eating carbs. There's only so many RX bars and sweet potatoes a gal can stomach, ya know?! And since many of the clients I work with are athletes (yes, you're an athlete if you're spending time in the gym, OKAY?), that low carb dieting can lead to binges and a bad relationship with food.
So now that Whole 30 is over, I totally encourage you to take a step back and figure out how you can use the POWER behind the last 30 days of your commitment to now take ANOTHER leap forward. Whole 30 doesn't last forever, but there are lots of tips and tricks that I use with 1:1 clients that CAN last forever. So let's talk about them!
What to Do After Whole 30
1. Pick a starch, any starch, and prep it.
Here's your HW. Go to store. Buy bag of quinoa. Prep it on the stove in bulk.
It sounds simple, but adding 3/4 - 1 cup of starch to your meals is GONA be game changing. Add it to what you were already doing on Whole 30 (protein + veg) and just WAIT FOR IT. Your cravings are gona STOP, you're gona have energy to RUN FOR DAYS, you're going to recover like a beast. You're going to want to kiss me. And I'm here for it! Send me a love note on Instagram (@serenamarierd) or to my email Serena@SerenaMarieRD.com.
If you don't like quinoa. That's cool. How about lentils, beans, farro, bulgar, buckwheat?? Even a can of beans is gona change your life.
2. Listen to your hunger/fullness cues.
I do this with ALL my private clients. We spend a good ole' chunk of time talking about why they're eating and whether they're actually hungry.
Guys, this is LIFE CHANGING. And I know during Whole 30 there were lots of moments where you wanted to eat but "couldn't" because there was nothing Whole 30 approved lying around. I love that Whole 30 helps reduce mindless eating, but I hate that it also reduces our ability to eat when we are hungry (if you're not prepared).
So build on the skill! Now that you're awesome at not mindlessly noshing, let's add in a new step: listening to hunger. When you feel hungry, eat. When you feel full, stop.
Realize that this is HARD. It's a SKILL. You need to practice it.
3. If you eat dairy, holla at your Greek yogurt!
So you trained your tastebuds these last 30 days to not need "added sugar" to make things taste sweet. That's cool.
Let's build on that "skill" by trying some super healthy, unsweetened cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. These plain dairy products are POWER HOUSES for nutrition. Whey protein (found in dairy) is the MOST satiating protein you can eat. It is a powerful stimulator of building new muscle to boost recovery and metabolism. AND it's so convenient.
I love wasa crackers with greek yogurt spread on top + everything but the bagel seasoning.
I adore cottage cheese + defrosted berries + peanut butter.
Lentils topped with Greek yogurt is SO delish.
Guys, just open yourself to a realm of possibilities. Give it a whirl!!! You may be surprised that it actually tastes kinda sweet to you right now in the days post-Whole-30.
4. Think about what you want to do long term...
Its possible that Whole 30 helped you learn how to meal prep/stock up on healthy snacks. And those are AWESOME long term healthy habits.
How can you make them stick??? Convenience proteins like frozen burgers, edamame, yogurt/cottage cheese, eggs, banza pasta make life a lot easier. Frozen veggies are my best friend for days I can't make it to the supermarket. What are some realistic actions you can implement to make meal prepping a long term commitment?
5. Don't be afraid to ask for help as you transition away from WHOLE 30 and onto a more sustainable lifestyle.
I am constantly giving away tips and tricks in my free Facebook community! Be sure you're a member to sign up for free challenges, recipes, and motivation.
I currently have THREE SPOTS left in my one-on-one nutrition coaching program. So feel free to shoot me a message if you're interested in learning more about the nutrition counseling process. It's a full proof way to learn long term healthy habits that are guaranteed to lead to your success (whether that's weight loss, sports performance, or just general self-love and breaking free of food fears).
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